Monday, January 1, 2007

Next year's biggest political issue in the US will be the same as it was in 2006: the bloody stain of George Bush's invasion of Iraq.

By David Corn

"......So he will be susceptible to proposals that are not geared toward extrication. Instead, he will want to hear, and try, ideas that come from advisers who claim he can still pull it off. It's no surprise then that Bush is considering a "surge" of troops in Iraq - which is merely a spinner's term for an escalation. US military commanders are skeptical of such a course, and the pro-war neocons are already arguing that the only worthwhile "surge" will be one that lasts at least a year and a half.

Whether or not Bush surges ahead, he is unlikely to proceed with any plan that aims at disengagement. So much for Jim Baker's Iraq Study Group. And as the sectarian conflict in Iraq continues, the US will become further ensnared. Bush will kick the can down the road, leaving it to the next president to deal with the mess wrought by GWB. Which means Iraq will dominate the US political landscape in 2007......"